


Does This Count?

by Ghost_Writing



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Bathing/Washing, Bathrooms, Canon-Typical Violence, Domestic Fluff, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Found Family, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Medical Inaccuracies, Medication, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Mutual Pining, Other, Pining, Polyamorous Character, Polyamory, Pre-Canon, Reader Is A Squad Commander (AoT), Reader-Insert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-11 22:41:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29125140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ghost_Writing/pseuds/Ghost_Writing
Summary: Reader has Gender-Neutral PronounsThe five of you had started sleeping as a group since Keith had left, that mission scaring you to your cores. You never bothered stopping because there was always another reason for at least of you to be scared and need the others. After Levi nearly dying to a titan, the day ends no differently- until someone says they're in love.
Relationships: Erwin Smith/Mike Zacharias/Hange Zoë, Erwin Smith/Reader, Hange Zoë/Reader, Levi Ackerman & Erwin Smith & Mike Zacharias & Hange Zoë, Levi Ackerman/Erwin Smith/Hange Zoë/Original Character(s), Levi Ackerman/Erwin Smith/Hange Zoë/Reader, Levi Ackerman/Erwin Smith/Mike Zacharias/Hange Zoë, Levi Ackerman/Erwin Smith/Mike Zacharias/Hange Zoë/Original Character(s), Levi Ackerman/Erwin Smith/Mike Zacharias/Hange Zoë/Reader, Levi Ackerman/Erwin Smith/Mike Zacharias/Original Character(s), Levi Ackerman/Erwin Smith/Mike Zacharias/Reader, Levi/Reader, Mike Zacharias/Reader
Comments: 10
Kudos: 83





	1. Chapter 1

Long before the breach of wall Maria, the scout regiment was determined to have missions outside the wall. To explore. To find what was left of the world. In the beginning, it was you, Hange, Miche, Erwin, and Levi. Erwin had just been left in charge after Keith’s departure, and the remaining five of you were left in control of the scout regiment. 

The plan had been to explore outside the walls, to attempt to rebuild a base outside the walls. Unfortunately, nothing really goes according to plan. 

All around you there was violence as the soldiers you trained kept falling to titans and the friends you had made were losing. You tried your hardest to get each titan, to save them, yet you couldn’t and the sickening crunch of your friends sounded through your ears.

You were losing, that much was clear. A familiar scream sounded through your ears and you turned towards the body of your best friend, Levi, held within a titan’s massive hand. He’d been caught. One of the deadliest scout captains had been caught.

An unholy scream left your lips at the sight.

You’re unsure what happened to you at that moment, your vision swarming with red as you shot through the trees to free him. Up until that moment, you thought you had been seeing red, but this was far different. Your heart hammered in your chest as your blades cut through the nape of the titan’s neck. A world without your friends held no hope, a world without Levi held no hope.

As the titan fell to the ground, you yanked Levi out of its massive hand. He wasn’t even conscious anymore. Your heart started to hammer faster in your ears as you shot through the air. In the midst of your vengeance, your friends had managed to finish off the few remaining titans. You focused on getting to the wagon with Levi.

He was breathing, thank the heavens. Yet his eyes were closed as you laid him down on the bed of the wagon. Shortly after you were joined by the other scouts, the horses forced to take off running towards wall Maria. 

Erwin, Hange, and Miche’s horses saddled up next to the wagon as you scrambled for the scrappy medical bag, attempting to fix what was wrong. Levi coughed, his eyes finally opening to watch you.

“What happened?!” Erwin demanded, looking at his friend with heavy concern laced across his knitted brow.

“Titans,” you spit, a snarl forming on your lip at the foul memory still burned into your mind.

“Is he going to be okay?! Do you need my help?!” Hange questioned, tears pricking at the corner of her eyes as she stared down at Levi.

You waved your hand at her, turning to focus on Levi.  
“Where?” you whispered quietly. The last thing that needed to happen would be to panic him, knowing Levi he’d hide it further from you and nothing would be fixed.  
“Ribs,” he grunted, trying to sit up in the cart and wincing. You helped guide him until he was sitting in front of you.

“I need to remove your shirt, okay?” you whisper from behind him, your hands already on the hem where it was tucked into his pants.

He nodded his head, shifting so it would be easier to accomplish. As quickly as possible to not hurt him, you remove his jacket and shirt, setting them in the wagon next to you.

He shivers in the night air as your friends form a small barrier around the wagon so that he wouldn’t be exposed to the whole regiment. 

A hiss left your lips at the sight of his bruised ribs, as well as scrapes down his side from where his blades had been pushed to his body.

“Hurry up and tell me. Am I dying or not, Y/N?” 

“You’re not dying, now hush and let me fix you.”

There’s a subtle truth to your words, yet the uncertainty hangs heavy as well. He can see it on everyone’s faces even if he can’t see yours. Carefully you disinfect as much as you can before wrapping him up in bandages.

“Not dying, see? Just a little bruised,” you mumble, mostly to convince yourself as you help him back into his shirt.

He nods his head, helping you to replace the shirt as he leans against the side of the wagon.

“Thanks, thought I was done for back there,” he grunts as you offer him some tea from the travel mug he’d brought.

“You’re telling me,” you mutter, leaning against the wagon as well as the five of you ride back in silence with your remaining squadrons around you. 

Entering the city was merciful thanks to it being night still as you enter. If the public had seen the aftermath of the recent exploration, they’d be up in arms. The cover of night was warmly welcomed as the five of you ordered your squads back to the barracks to allow you some space to get Levi up to the captains’ wing.

“I don’t think I feel safe sleeping alone tonight,” you shakingly admit while the five of you trudge back.

“I don’t either, we almost got eaten today,” Miche agrees as he walks next to you, taking a moment to ruffle your hair.

“I almost got eaten,” Levi mumbles next to you. You’d been helping him walk with Erwin on his other side, so it draws both you and the commander’s attentions.

“I’m also still not sure about leaving Levi alone in this shape,” you continue, shooting a worried look at him.

“I lost half my squadron today,” Hange admits quietly on Erwin’s other side. The commander reaches around and places an arm around her.

“We’ll sleep in my room tonight, Miche you mind helping me carry a second mattress into the room?” Erwin decides, looking over at the other blond in the group.

Miche nods his head as the five of you reach the captains’ quarters.   
“Yeah of course Erwin, let’s get mine since it’s the softest.”

“Good idea,” Erwin declares as he walks off with Miche after unlocking the door to his room for you, Hange, and Levi.

“How long will it take them to remember that his bed is still in here because we never put them back together before leaving,” Hange comments as the two of you help Levi into the room to sit on the large bed.

The five of you had started sleeping as a group since Keith had left, that mission scaring you to your cores. Your clothes were in the room as well, same with anything else that was personal or necessary. Your rooms simply storage units now. 

No one had voiced any argument against this arrangement. In fact, they all seemed rather happy to share the space together. Late at night when they were all asleep, you’d romanticize about the five of you together as polycule. It was a stupid idea, yet your mind found peace with it. The world was so big and dangerous, you’d all seen so, if you had to guess you’d say it was the trauma bonding that pushed you to crush on your best friends.

The five of you did everything together anyway, so what did it matter if you’d never kissed any of them and probably never will? Why ruin a good thing?

“Y/N?” Levi’s voice broke you out of your train of thought, bringing you back to reality where you were staring down at his lips. 

Your face turned red as you rubbed the back of your neck.

“Sorry I was just thinking about…” you stopped yourself before finishing. Best not to mention it.

“About what? Come on we have time to kill before they get back?” Hange questions, passing you one of Erwin’s nightshirts. You look down at it with a smile, the three of you always stole clothes from Miche or Erwin to sleep in.

“Am I actually giving it to him tonight or am I wearing it?” you chuckle, arching an eyebrow at Hange.

Suddenly, warm hands rest on your sides, a head ontop of yours.  
“I’ve got plenty, you three look better in them anyways,” Erwin mumbles as you tilt your head up to look at him with a smile. 

“Guess you remembered that Miche’s bed is still in here?” you comment, meeting his eyes.

“Perhaps, or maybe we snuck off to talk about battle strategies,” he teases, ruffling your hair as he straightens up. 

“Yeah, we could be conspiring something dangerous,” Miche joins in as you roll your eyes.

“Get dressed for bed, alright? I’ll help Levi,” you order, shooing the three of them to stop standing around.

They at least do as they’re told, leaving you to strip out of your shirt, tug on Erwin’s, and then remove your own pants into a heap in the laundry basket with your name on it. Next, you grab the shirt placed on Levi’s head, who was currently watching you.

“It’s rude to stare you know,” you tease as you take the shirt off his head, “Hange using you as a clothes rack again?”

“Sorry, living up in the underground taught me to treasure natural beauty,” he banters back, a smirk across his lips.

“Alright, what did you do with the real Levi Ackerman? Too much morphine?” you chuckle as you strip him from his shirt for the second time that day.

“Maybe I’m a titan in disguise as Levi, come to eat you?” he suggests as you help him into Erwin’s shirt.

“Dang Y/N, how much morphine did you give him? You know you have to account for his height, right?” Miche joins in, chuckling as he sits down on the bed while you help Levi out of his pants.

“Alright that’s enough you three, leave him be. He nearly died today,” Erwin huffs, returning with Hange who he immediately pulls onto his lap to slump on, his head on top of hers.

You nod your head, helping Levi over to the bed so that you two were in the middle of the bed, Miche next to Levi, and Hange and Erwin on your other side. A yawn escapes your lips as Levi curls up around your side, your hand running through his hair idly. 

“Thanks, for saving me earlier,” Levi mumbles as the room quiets down to shallow breathes and shuffling of sheets.

“Everyone was dying around me, I couldn’t let more people die. What would even happen to all of us if you died though?” you vent, the weight lifting off your chest slightly.

“We already lost Keith to training, we can’t lose you to titans,” Miche grumbles, turning over so he could carefully cuddle up to Levi.  
“Maybe you really are doped up, Levi. You’re never this soft,” Hange comments, resting her hand on Levi’s face from the other side of you.

“Maybe I’m just in love, four-eyes-!” Levi snaps, his hand covering his mouth quickly as his eyes go wide. Barely even registering the protest of the quick movement. 

Attention shifts to Levi as even your hand freezes momentarily in his hair. The small whisper of hope passes through your heart as the silence grows thick in the room. It lasts for all of two seconds, or maybe two hours, you’re not sure.

“Does this count as love? I mean there are five of us and isn’t it meant to be two people?” Hange asks from behind him, breaking the silence.

“You remember Yamisu, Kinoken, and Suzuzuma? They were something they called a ‘polycule’. It is possible,” Erwin informs him almost as if this was a typical conversation.

“I think the scouts have bets on who’s really a couple, they’re always arguing over who’s with who, and I’ve caught them with a betting pool once or twice,” Miche joins in from behind Levi.

“Wonder what they’d do if we all were one,” you mused, a chuckle at the end of your sentence as you looked up at the ceiling.

“If? I thought we were?” Erwin asks, sitting up in bed with his eyebrows knitted together.

The four of you turn to him, Hange on her back, and Levi tilting his gaze.

“Yeah same here, though it’s confusing at times,” Miche confesses as he sits up as well.

Hange looks up at the two of them and shrugs.  
“I mean I wouldn’t be against it, what about you two?” she asks, looking back at you and Levi.

“I- you guys are messing with me,” you sigh, looking up at Erwin and Miche who shake their heads.

“We’re not, and I can prove it,” Erwin states, locking eyes with you.

“Alright, how?” you ask, looking back at him as your heart hammers loud enough you swear Levi and Hange can hear it.

It only pounds louder as he leans down, his lips millimetres away from yours.  
“Like this,” he whispers, pressing his lips against yours carefully. His lips are soft, well taken care of like the man himself as he kisses you chastely for a few seconds before pulling back.

You blink up at him, lost in yourself as your hand reaches up and pulls him back down by the collar. He lets out a startled noise, but relaxes seconds later, the chaste kiss turning into one of permission as his lips confidently claim yours.

He pulls back after a few more moments, leaving you to stare up at him.  
“And, we’re all okay with this?” you whisper, still looking up at Erwin.

Erwin nods his head as you get a collective ‘yes’ from the rest of the group. Breaking your eyes away from him, you see a very startled Levi currently occupied by Hange leaning across you to kiss him. As it gets more heated, you put your hand on her chest.

“Hange, the points across but at least let the poor man rest for tonight. He’s already nearly died from a titan and a heart attack,” you chuckle as she pulls away from Levi, wiping her lips.

“Sorry, it’s just- oh I’ve been waiting for someone to say something for months now! Now I can finally kiss you four!” she cheers happily, a broad smile on her face as she snuggles back down in Erwin’s arms.

“You can kiss us all you want tomorrow, but tonight, let’s get some rest,” Miche suggests, settling back down behind Levi.

There’s a collective agreement of goodnights as everyone settles back down into silence, no longer a lingering awkward tension, instead, a comforting passion settling around the room. Just as you’re about to drift off to sleep, you feel someone press a quick kiss to your lips.

“Goodnight, Y/N,” you hear Levi whisper as he settles down, curled up around your side.

“Sleep well, Levi,” you whisper back, resting your hand on his head gently as sleep takes over your body.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who didn't know, Erwin is canonically 6'2, and Mike is 6'4. That'll explain a few things throughout the fic. The reader is placed around 5'5".

The next morning came slowly as you awoke with a heavyweight on your chest from both sides. You were used to waking up between the four of them so you didn’t startle as you slowly opened your eyes to look into the room. Sunlight shed inside, illuminating the faces sleeping close to you. 

Levi was still curled up next to you, his head resting on your chest as he silently slept. The only other person in the room was Erwin, curled up close to you. Your mind recalled Hange and Mike being in the room as well, yet they seemed to be missing. The two of them were never really ones to sleep in, none of you were as the horrifying memories always surfaced the most at night. 

“They’re in the mess hall,” Erwin mumbles, chuckling as you quickly turn your head to look down at him. He smiles sleepily as if he’d been drifting in and out of sleep for a while.

“We never cleaned off yesterday, I’m still coated in blood,” you admit, feeling the dried blood sticking to the side of your face.

“Levi’s going to need new bandages too,” Erwin reminds you, pressing a kiss to your dirty cheek.

“Erwin! That’s gross!” you giggle, giving him a small shove as he grins back at you.

“Come on Y/N, I’m the Commander. I order you to let me kiss your cheek,” he teases, kissing your cheek again despite your protests.

“Can you two be quiet,” Levi grumbles, putting his hands to his ears.

“Oh sorry sleepyhead, we didn’t mean to wake you,” you hum, kissing the top of his head.

Levi grumbles, “this is so unhygienic.”

“Want to go shower it off?” you suggest, running your hand through his hair and trying not to wince as you tug on clumped strands. 

“Yes,” he grunts, sitting up slowly and stretching out while yawning. He collapses almost instantly due to the strain on his injuries.

“Take it easy, we’ll help you,” Erwin instructs him as he gets up and rounds the bed to Levi’s side.

Levi grumbles, accepting the hand held out to him as the three of you get up and sneak off to the captain’s showers. The top floor held a communal shower for the captains and had the scouts dynamic been different, you would take turns using it. However, none of you had ever felt the need to take turns. There’d been many instances in the past of you assisting each other to wash off the dirt from missions, especially since Erwin had a particularly hard time reaching his back and Mike was never able to get his own hair as clean as Levi could.

Erwin turned on the water as you entered the showers, helping Levi to stand under one of the showerheads as you unwrapped the bandages around his wounds. You didn’t particularly care that your shirt was being soaked in doing so, your focus completely on the man leaning against Erwin’s chest.

“There, all done. Now let’s get you cleaned up,” you declare, reaching for one of the expensive soap bars that were a luxury only the Commander was meant to enjoy- he shared them with all four of you anyways.

“You’re wearing your clothes still, Y/N,” Levi reminds you, his normal grumble returning as you kiss his forehead.

“For such a neat-freak, you have a dirty mind,” you tease, stripping down and tossing the ruined clothes with the bandages. You hadn’t even noticed you’d been bleeding and that blood had soaked into Erwin’s shirt.

Levi opens his mouth to protest before you swoop in and press a kiss to his lips, shifting him to lean against you so that Erwin could undress as well. He pulls back after a moment, grumbling over being covered in dirt still.

“Let’s get you cleaned then, if you’re so worried about it,” you hum as Erwin returns to stand behind Levi. 

Levi nods his head as you hand him another soap bar. Erwin takes the bottle of shampoo that Levi was particular to using, lathering his hair with bubbles as you and Levi washed his body. Within a few minutes, Levi was sitting on one of the benches, water rushing over his body as he let the conditioner sit in his hair.

“What do you think, Commander, I get your back and you wash my hair for me?” you ask, a playful smile across your face as you held up the soap bar still in your hand.

“A wonderful idea, Captain. Truly your battle strategy is brilliant,” he chuckles, turning around to face the door and allow you to wash the dirt off his back.

Your partway through cleaning when your eyes go wide. Not from the situation, but from the scrapes across his back, similar to having hit against a tree.

“Erwin, you’re bleeding. Why didn’t you say something sooner?” you question, taking great care to wash the dirt away from the cuts as the larger man winces.

“I’m the Commander, I’m supposed to be the strong one. We already had Levi hurt, I didn’t want to worry anyone more,” he admits, his words shaking slightly as you finish cleaning off his back.

“You’re a fool, just because I’m hurt doesn’t mean you can’t be too,” Levi grunts from where he’d started washing the conditioner out of his hair.

“I know… I should have said something sooner, but-”   
His sentence is cut short by the door swinging open to Mike and Hange walking in. Both are dressed in robes, clearly intending to shower, with Hange carrying the medical bag from the room.

“See, I told you they were in here,” she gloats, turning to Mike with a smug smile and her hands on her hips.

“Fine, you’re right and I’m wrong. Now can we please shower? I feel sticky,” Mike grumbles as he shuts the door behind himself.

“Oh! Hange thank you! It seems that humanities finest think that only one of them can get hurt at a time,” you chirp, poking your head out from behind Erwin. “I’m going to need the disinfectant.”

Hange looks at you and nods, digging out the bottle from the bag and passes it to Erwin.  
“What did you do this time, Erwin?” she questions as Mike walks over and stands under the showerhead next to you with a triumphant sigh.

“Hit a tree,” Erwin sighs, looking down at the floor.

“His back is awful- Erwin, this is going to sting,” you warn him, filling a rag with disinfectant. 

Hange peeks her head around and grimaces. She pats him on the shoulder before walking over to help Levi, who was still trying to clean his hair.

“Is it that bad?” Erwin whimpers as you press the cloth to his back, slowly cleaning out the scrapes caused by the bark and branches.

“It’s worse because you left it without cleaning it yesterday,” you hum, focusing on cleaning off his back.

He sighs, his shoulders slumping forwards as you try and reach the top of his shoulders. Deep down, he knows you’re right.

“Y/N, have you even checked your own body?” Mike asks next to you once he deems the lecture having simmered down long enough.

“I- no… I didn’t have time to yet,” you sheepishly admit, finishing up cleaning Erwin and handing him the shampoo bottle so he can wash his hair and then yours. You always preferred Erwin’s shampoo, it smelt better and was oddly comforting to have his scent near you during the day.

“You mind if I check?” Mike asks, the water underneath him finally turning clear instead of dirty as he sets down his own rag of disinfectant. You’d been so focused on Erwin that you hadn’t noticed he’d been cleaning off his arms and chest.

“Doubt you’ll find anything, but go for it,” you shrug as Erwin finishes his hair and moves on to yours.  
Mike moves behind you, and despite this having happened countless times and the dynamic between the five of you having been finally decided, you still feel your cheeks heat up from the slow, patient gaze running over you. You freeze when a hand rests on your thigh and your heart hammers as Mike crouches down behind you. You can’t see him, your eyes are closed to prevent soap bubbles from getting in, but you know he’s crouching from the tense silence in the room.

“Your legs look worse than Levi’s, how are you even still walking around?” you hear his voice mumble, a rhetorical question as someone else crouches down next to him.

“I’ll do this leg, you do the other one. Erwin, make sure they don’t collapse,” Hange orders next to you. You’re about to open your mouth to protest when a shooting sting runs through your leg and you slump forwards against Erwin’s chest.

“Ssh, it’s okay, you’re safe, relax,” Erwin murmured as they cleaned up your legs.

During the painful experience, someone reached out to grab your hand. Peeking out you see Levi sitting on the ground, holding your hand.

“Not a word,” he mouths to you as he strokes his thumb back and forth. 

You stand there quietly, slummed against Erwin’s chest as Hange and Mike work to clean up your legs. Every once and a while they mumble about something before tiny pieces of cloth are pulled from your legs that belong to your pants.

Then there’s a knock on the door, and it opens to one of the cadets in the scouts, full salute with wide eyes as he takes in the sight before him.

“Cadet, there better be an explanation for this,” Erwin growled, glaring him down. No one makes a motion to move apart as the cadet is glared down by all four captains and the Commander.

“I- I- I pulled the short end of the straw, sirs! We were wondering if there are orders today, sirs!” the cadet asked, his eyes fixed on the ceiling.

“I thought it was clear, you all have a week off. Now you can continue to stand there and be given stable duty during the week off, or you can go down to the medical wing and grab some bandages and leave them on my bed,” Erwin orders, staring the cadet down.

He nods his head frantically and turns around, closing the door quickly.  
“I’ll have it done quickly, sirs!” he calls as he runs down the hall and down the stairs, leaving the five of you.

“Fucking brats,” Levi grumbles next to you as he leans against Erwin’s leg.

“They need to learn how to knock,” Hange agrees, finishing up your leg.

“Guess we’ll be teaching manners next week,” Mike huffs, passing the dirty rag to Hange so she can dispose of them. “Here, I’ll take them,” he whispers to Erwin, opening his arms.

Erwin nods, transferring you to Mike, who holds you gently as the rest of the disinfectant washes off down the drain. You lean against his chest, arms wrapped around his waist.

“Sorry Y/N, that was a lot to clean up,” he mumbles, kissing the top of your head before pulling back and spitting on the ground, “Erwin! Why didn’t you tell me they still had conditioner on!”

“You didn’t ask,” Erwin chuckles, washing off the top of your head with the running water as you smile against Mike’s skin.

There’s a knock at the door as the cadet calls from the other side;  
“Your bandages are on your bed, sirs!”

“Thank you, Cadet, you’re dismissed!” Erwin calls after him.

There are running footsteps outside as the cadet darts away and you can’t help but chuckle.

“Is everyone clean now?” you ask, looking up at Mike with a smile across your face,

“Hange did you clean your hair?” Mike asks, looking over at the woman currently checking over her body for any injuries.

“Yeah, was the first thing I did after helping Levi,” she confirms, and Mike looks back to you.

“I think we’re all good then,” he hums, leaning down and gently kissing your lips as Erwin shuts off the water behind him.

“Good, we should probably dress Levi’s wounds again,” you decide, kissing him back only briefly before you’re pulled away from him by Erwin and made to sit down on one of the benches.

“Yours too, captain,” he instructs, putting a hand on your chest so that you know to stay while he dries your hair.

Drying off is quick, Mike scooping you up to carry you back to the room as Hange makes sure no one else is in the hallway so another cadet wouldn’t get an eyeful. They carry you and Levi over, the smaller man rather grumpy at the fact of being carried around in Erwin’s arms.

It’s slow to get dressed and wrap up the bandages, attention focused on you and Levi before you remind them that Erwin’s back is just as injured, and Mike was hurt too, you’d seen him using the disinfectant. 

That’s how you found yourself sitting with your legs over Mike’s lap as you bandage Erwin’s back up, with Hange doing Mike’s bandages, and Erwin helping Levi. As ordered, the cadet had brought bandages, the good kind too. 

A smile graces your lips as Hange leans over and kisses your lips, it startles you at first, not used to having such an occurrence. You remind yourself it’s just normal now with a smile, leaning back over and kissing her in full.


End file.
